Welsh Baccalaureate Qualification

The Welsh Baccalaureate or Welsh Bacc, is delivered in schools and colleges across Wales. It gives broader experiences than traditional learning programmes, developing transferable skills useful for education and employment. The Welsh Bacc is offered at Advanced (level 3), National (level 2) Foundation (level 1) and National/Foundation level, and is studied alongside a range of academic and vocational qualifications.

The new Welsh Baccalaureate was introduced for teaching from September 2015 and was designed and developed in response to the findings of the 2012 Review of Qualifications for 14 to 19 year-olds in Wales. The primary aim is to enable learners to develop and demonstrate an understanding of, and proficiency in, essential and employability skills: Communication, Numeracy, Digital Literacy, Planning and Organisation, Creativity and Innovation, Critical Thinking and Problem Solving, and Personal Effectiveness.

The new Welsh Baccalaureate differs from the legacy Baccalaureate (first made available across Wales in 2007 and last awarded in 2016) in both content and structure, most noticeably with the inclusion of the Skill Certificate Challenge qualification which can also be awarded independently of the WB. WJEC is the awarding body for the Welsh Baccalaureate.

The Welsh Bacc is awarded at the following levels:

The legacy Welsh Baccalaureate Qualification, that was last awarded in 2016, consists of two parts – a compulsory Core and a choice of Options, which are made up of optional subjects or qualifications which the student may be following. Together, the Core and Options make up the Welsh Baccalaureate Qualification. Options are the courses/programmes currently studied by the student alongside the Core e.g. General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE), Advanced Subsidiary/Advanced (AS / A levels), BTec, Principal Learning. The Options requirements depend on the level of the Welsh Baccalaureate being followed.The Welsh Baccalaureate Advanced Diploma attracts 120 UCAS (university entry) points, the same as an A grade in an A Level subject. The awarding organisation for the Welsh Bacclaureate Qualification is WJEC.The structure of the Welsh Baccalaureate Core is the same at all three levels and consists of:

The Welsh Baccalaureate began in September 2003 as a pilot scheme involving 18 schools and colleges in Wales. The qualification was rolled out to centres across Wales in September 2007. By September 2012, 75,000 learners in 240 schools, colleges and work based learning centres were registered for the Welsh Baccalaureate courses. The Welsh Bac has become a familiar part of the educational landscape in Wales with all colleges and only a small minority of schools not delivering at least one level of the qualification.

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